Update (September 1, 2018): Legendary soul singer Gladys Knight refutes claims suggesting she has cancer, according to Detroit Free Press.
While attending the homegoing of the her "sister," the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin, the "Midnight Train to Georgia" singer revealed to the media they both have battled cancer. Speculation about her health then began to surround Knight on social media. However, her publicist, Javier Delgado, says she is doing fine.
"She's healthy. Someone must have misinterpreted," said Delgado. Prior to Franklin's passing, Knight spoke with Franklin about their health struggles when they stayed at the same hotel.
Publicist Jay Schwartz, who also represents Knight, states she had stage one breast cancer and is now cancer free due to early detection and treatment. "It is unfortunate that on a day we should be celebrating Aretha's life and massive contribution to our world, a reporter who did not relay accurate information has missed the message," a statement from Knight read. "I send my love to the entire Franklin family and my gratitude to them for sharing such an extraordinary person with us."
Original: As we mourn the loss of one legendary diva, another beloved singer has revealed she is suffering from the same illness that took the Queen of Soul's life.
On Thursday, during Aretha Franklin's funeral, Gladys Knight revealed she is fighting pancreatic cancer, reports the Detroit News.
While cancer treatments have taken giant strides in the past few decades, pancreatic cancer continues to be a harsh illness to defeat.
Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society and medical oncologist and epidemiologist at Emory University, told the Detroit News only 20 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive over a year. Brawley said only 7 percent make it to five years.
Pancreatic cancer, which is difficult to diagnose in its early stages, makes up for 3 percent of all cancers in the United States and 7 percent of all cancer deaths. Brawley said it is a particularly dangerous form of cancer as it can spread rapidly with few or no noticeable symptoms.
"It does not have a fibrous outer covering the way the liver, the kidney, the colon and the uterus have," noted Brawley. "Other organs have this capsule, and the capsule can help keep the cancer confined for a time."
The American Cancer Society posits approximately 44,330 Americans will die due to pancreatic cancer this year.
"With pancreatic cancer we rarely find it localized. As soon as the tumor develops it’s starting to spread because the organ itself doesn’t have an outer capsule," he continued.
"The Lord tells us where we are going and tells us when we are coming," Knight said during a Monday interview with Us Weekly, about Franklin's passing. "So I’m not overly upset about [Franklin's death], and He knows how much each one of us can bear, and He calls us home with those things in mind. That’s the way I feel about it because He loves us like that.”
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